Robert Liston: surgeon extraordinary

Robert Liston (1794-1847): surgical anatomist and resurrectionist with an interest in hydrocephalus

INTRODUCTION

The Scottish surgeon Robert Liston was an accomplished anatomist of the nineteenth century. The study of anatomy during this day was often overshadowed by the so-called resurrectionists.

CONCLUSIONS

The present historic paper reviews the life and contributions of Robert Liston and discusses his fascination with childhood hydrocephalus.

All here are agog with the chloroform

Two letters written by James Y. Simpson are included among a bound collection of 25 of his pamphlets held in the Gordon Craig Collection of the Library of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Both letters are written in pamphlets relating to Simpson's championing of chloroform. The first letter is written in a proof copy of a pamphlet titled Notice of a new anaesthetic agent as a substitute for Sulphuric ether in Surgery and Midwifery. This very rare pamphlet was posted to Dr Fleetwood Churchill, a Dublin obstetrician, on 13 November 1847, 9 days after the 'dining room experiment' in Simpson' s home, when the anaesthetic properties of chloroform were dramatically demonstrated. The second letter is written 10 months later and is also addressed to Dr Fleetwood Churchill. The content of both letters is discussed, as is also the rarity of the proof copies of the first printed document describing the use of chloroform.